A new 30 Rock thread because I can't find the old one

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wau

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_11737.asp

― kenan, Friday, 27 April 2007 20:24 (nineteen years ago)

"Chewbacca, can I speak to Tracy?"

― The Yellow Kid, Friday, 27 April 2007 20:35 (nineteen years ago)

Stritich's comeback was beautiful. I can't paraphrase it to give it justice.

"I can hear you fine, dear. I just wanted to make sure you could hear you."

also: "Tell him his Mother's here! And that she loves him... but not in a queer way!"

― will, Friday, 27 April 2007 21:30 (nineteen years ago)

IT'S COWBOY HAY-HAY

― max, Friday, 27 April 2007 21:42 (nineteen years ago)

i am upset we didn't get to see cowboy hay hay

― cutty, Friday, 27 April 2007 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

Kenneth is the best character on the show, ~~sometimes~~most of the time.

― tehresa, Friday, 27 April 2007 22:25 (nineteen years ago)

scrubs got cancelled? i thought it was moving to abc or something

― akm, Friday, 27 April 2007 23:39 (nineteen years ago)

So I'm watching fully half of NBC's thursday night line-up, which is the first time that's happened since the Seinfeld days. And it accounts for about half of the shows that I make sure to watch in a given week. And I'm guessing that I'm far from the only one for whom that is true, and for whom it's true because NBC is airing actual real-life great shows. My feeling is that the smart money is on NBC continuing to back quality in at least the short-term (e.g. giving 30 Rock a full-season renewal in order to let it find an audience). Because, otherwise, they're going to have a full hour on thursday to fill with new and untested material or old and tired material shifted from another part of the schedule. This might be their strongest line-up in years (possibly ever...judge for yourself), and it would be a shame to fuck that up.

― Deric W. Haircare, Saturday, 28 April 2007 00:16 (nineteen years ago)

The audience for The Office and 30 Rock is probably a pretty attractive one to advertisers, too, small or not.

― nabisco, Saturday, 28 April 2007 00:42 (nineteen years ago)

aye, for thursday nights, it is incredibly strong.

they also have Heroes and, more imporantly, Friday Night Lights, which makes them the best network on TV. Obviously not counting HBO.

― Gukbe, Saturday, 28 April 2007 00:43 (nineteen years ago)

I mean, the whole night is good, if you want to sell cool sneakers and Volkswagens to the 20-something college-grad demographic and start up some brand loyalty with their teenage equivalents -- those shows just happen to be the two I care about. I suppose they're kinda competing with cheaper cable stuff for those markets, though.

― nabisco, Saturday, 28 April 2007 00:44 (nineteen years ago)

The best all-time lineup (CBS though):

All in the Family
M*A*S*H
Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Carol Burnett Show

'30 Rock + The Office' is the new 'All In the Family + M*A*S*H' 1-2 punch.

― musically, Saturday, 28 April 2007 08:30 (nineteen years ago)

but how many of us were alive to remember that 1-2 punch?

― cutty, Saturday, 28 April 2007 09:23 (nineteen years ago)

I certainly wasn't then but I'm alive now and watch them both on DVD so I can assume watching them on television was roughly similar.

― musically, Saturday, 28 April 2007 18:38 (nineteen years ago)

watched some of this. not v funny

― RJG, Saturday, 28 April 2007 18:43 (nineteen years ago)

RJG = WRONG

― Gukbe, Saturday, 28 April 2007 18:46 (nineteen years ago)

and stupid

― Gukbe, Saturday, 28 April 2007 18:46 (nineteen years ago)

alec baldwin is funny. I like tracy morgan. there have been some funny bits but it is v inconsistent and sometimes there are bits that are so obviously supposed to be funny but they are not

― RJG, Saturday, 28 April 2007 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

HONKEY RJG BE TRIPPIN'!

― Gukbe, Saturday, 28 April 2007 19:04 (nineteen years ago)

I like chris parnell, too

― RJG, Saturday, 28 April 2007 19:46 (nineteen years ago)

stritch said "i heard you, i just wanted to make sure you heard you."

zzzzing!

― s1ocki, Sunday, 29 April 2007 06:23 (nineteen years ago)

for every otm thing said here, there are 10 rong things sed. this show rly hasnt misstepped yet.

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Sunday, 29 April 2007 07:15 (nineteen years ago)

rjg is wrong

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 10:34 (nineteen years ago)

there are a lot of bum notes and predictable bum notes

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 10:42 (nineteen years ago)

<i>haha the rural juror stuff was killing me, i kinda hope it reaches a 'bob loblaw's law blog' type conclusion</i>

it does seem like a weak attempt at that (and others)

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 10:48 (nineteen years ago)

it's a funny joke, the 'rural juror'. she doesn't know the name of the film! i lolled without shame.

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 10:52 (nineteen years ago)

it is slightly funny

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 10:53 (nineteen years ago)

"i'ma make you a mixtape! you like phil collins?"
"i have two ears and a heart, don't i?"

this has people shouting and weeping w/ laughter, upthread

it is slightly funny

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 10:57 (nineteen years ago)

alec baldwin is funny, though

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 10:58 (nineteen years ago)

I don't really like it.

Apart just not finding it funny a lot of the time, the race-related jokes make me uncomfortable. I have not read all this thread, it seems that no-one else has been offended by this, but I will try to explain anyway.

I think there is a big difference between jokes that are about questions of race, drawing humour from the awkwardness and taboo nature of the subject (eg Curb Your Enthusiasm) and jokes that just play on racist assumptions for their humour. Sometimes, though, it gets a bit hard for me to tell the difference.

30 Rock has a black character whose hilarious quirk is that he is well-educated and pretentious. In one episode (was it the first episode?), the other guy says to him "Are there any other black nerds or is it just you and Urkel?"

I am really not well acquainted with the ins and outs of American race relations, but can someone tell me why exactly that is not a racist joke? Is it just because the writers are clearly liberals who have no racist intentions?

― Cathy, Sunday, 29 April 2007 11:19 (nineteen years ago)

"30 Rock has a black character whose hilarious quirk is that he is well-educated and pretentious."

no.

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 11:20 (nineteen years ago)

"superman does good"

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 11:21 (nineteen years ago)

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 11:30 (nineteen years ago)

there are too many jokes about liz lemon being a failure in life/unattractive. i still think it's awesome.

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 11:35 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.emerchandise.com/images/p/NNN/pdTINNN0106.jpg

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 11:50 (nineteen years ago)

'you're such a monica'

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 12:03 (nineteen years ago)

Hey, RJG, are you trying to tell us that you think the show isn't all that funny? Is that what you're saying? Because it's a little unclear. Maybe you should subtly imply it a few dozen more times.

And Cathy: could you say why you think that is a racist joke? I'm actually glad that 30 Rock deals with the race stuff head-on and sans po-face. I'd argue that this show is far less racist in its use of black characters/actors than SNL has been, in general. Maybe a specious comparison, but still.

― Deric W. Haircare, Sunday, 29 April 2007 13:35 (nineteen years ago)

it isn't all that funny

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 13:54 (nineteen years ago)

It's usually difficult and pointless to try and analyse jokes, but I'll try.

I think it's a racist joke because it derives humour from a racial stereotype, with little else going on as far as I can see.

The guy says "Are there any other black nerds or is it just you and Urkel?" The idea of a black nerd is presumably supposed to be humorous, because of the stereotype that black people are either a) too "cool" to be nerds (very patronising) or b) not intelligent/educated enough to be nerds (very insulting).

I don't really see this as "dealing with the race stuff head on" so much as very clumsily making a joke about a black stereotype.

What am I missing?

― Cathy, Sunday, 29 April 2007 13:57 (nineteen years ago)

don't mind rjg, he will continue to download and watch this show

― cutty, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:19 (nineteen years ago)

hang on isn't it tracey jordan who says that to toofer?

either way you're getting its tone wrong.

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:24 (nineteen years ago)

ooga-chaka ooga-ooga

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:25 (nineteen years ago)

it isn't TJ, it's the funny guy w/ the funny hats that have funny things printed on to them, isn't it?

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, but what was it in response to again?

― cutty, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

Toufer: [Complaining to Liz] Surely our massive conglomerate parent company could spring for a samovar of coffee.
Frank: Yeah, or, like, a big coffee dispenser!
Toufer: [Condescendingly] That's what a samovar is.
Frank: Are there other black nerds, or is it just you and Urkel?
[Toofer just stares at Frank]

joke is partly frank makes arse of himself, no?

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:30 (nineteen years ago)

can't remember what was printed on to his hat on that day

crosspost

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:30 (nineteen years ago)

Does "tone" just mean the lack of racist intent by the writers? A joke can be racist without meaning to be.

x-post

― Cathy, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:31 (nineteen years ago)

joke is partly frank makes arse of himself, no?

now I'm laughing

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:31 (nineteen years ago)

The best thing to come out of the Rural Juror stuff was Alec Baldwin's "They're making a film out of the Rural Juror? I love Kevin Grisham."

Twofer is so named because he fills both the black and the ivy league quotients of the writing staff.

Many funny things have come from Twofer and Tracy's relationship. The whole episode with the n-word was very good. "It just sounds HATEFUL coming from you." "In the past ten years or so, the African-American community have reappropriated that word..." etc...

Tracy himself is a send up in a lot of ways of "crazy" African-American comedians (Martin Lawrence, Wayans Bros, etc...). "I'm so confused. My entire career is based on analyzing the differences between black and white culture". The phone dialling!

― Gukbe, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

name me a comedy show where each and every gag makes u lol.

xpost

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

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